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TV Notes; Comedy Host In Hot Water

Comedy Central, the all-comedy cable channel, had big plans for this week. Then its biggest star went and got himself suspended.

Craig Kilborn, the host of ''The Daily Show,'' the nightly newscast satire on Comedy Central, which the channel has repeatedly branded its ''signature show,'' won't be working at all this week -- or getting paid -- thanks to some startling comments he made in the coming issue of Esquire magazine.

The show's head writer, Lizz Winstead isn't working either, but she's not suspended. She is just protesting Mr. Kilborn's comments, which were directed toward her. In a quote that was labeled a joke in the article, but which had none of the female members of the show's staff laughing, Mr. Kilborn called Ms. Winstead and other women on the show a derogatory name and then suggested that she liked him and would perform a sex act on him if he wanted her to.

The timing is especially bad for Comedy Central because it had hopes that this week would provide another ratings boost for ''The Daily Show,'' which has in seen both its ratings and the number of favorable critical comments rise over the last month.

''The Daily Show'' has benefited from the surging popularity of ''South Park,'' the highly irreverent animated show that plays on Wednesday nights at 10. Tonight, Comedy Central offers the latest new episode of ''South Park,'' the Christmas episode, in fact. Executives at the channel had been holding a little pool to predict just how high the rating would go this time.

The Thanksgiving episode of ''South Park'' was the highest-rated entertainment show of that week in all of cable television, trailing only a National Football League game on ESPN. By no coincidence at all, ''The Daily Show'' had its highest rating ever the same night.

Comedy Central executives were sure the new ''South Park'' would beat its Thankgiving show, and perhaps everything else on cable this week, even including football.

Looking to help ''The Daily Show'' take advantage of the mighty lead-in, Comedy Central scheduled a special ''Daily Show'' at 10:30 tonight, in the suitably odd form of an Andy Williams Christmas special, to lead into the regular ''Daily Show'' at 11 P.M.

Mr. Williams, who formerly had a regular network Christmas special, had apparently gone everywhere else looking for a home for his Christmas show. Only Comedy Central agreed to give him a shot, if they could turn the ''Daily Show'' writers loose on it.

As it happens, Mr. Kilborn isn't suspended enough not to appear on the special tonight because he had previously taped an interview with Mr. Williams. But one of the correspondents for ''The Daily Show,'' Beth Littleford, will replace him as host tonight.

Mr. Kilborn did appear before the show's staff Monday to apologize for his comments, ''a heartfelt apology'' in the words of one staff member. Officially, he made a statement in which he called his remarks ''regrettable'' and said they were ''in jest and not intended for publication.''

Esquire did label them a joke, but quoted Mr. Kilborn as saying, ''You can print that!''

The show was already scheduled for a two-week vacation starting next week. Comedy Central, in its own statement, blamed Mr. Kilborn's suspension on his ''inappropriate comments'' but said he would return on Jan. 5.

The future of Ms. Winstead, considered the creative force behind the show's success, is less certain. Comedy Central is not docking her pay for not showing up this week, an executive said. But when or whether she will return is apparently still open to question. BILL CARTER